When I'm Gone
by Masika
Summary: Sequel to Tequila Mockingbird! Obvously, it's a Yuffentine, and a Tifa/Sephiroth. The pairing aren't all that hidden anymore. Part three, and a longer chapter...
1. Objection!

When I'm Gone  
part i - Objection (Tango)  
  
Author's Note: This is the sequel to Tequila Mockingbird, and it's loaded with love triangle goodness. ^_^ The basic points of view will switch through the story, but it will still be in third person as well as obvious whose point of view you're in.  
  
Disclaimer: Do I really have to? *pouts* All FF7 characters belong to Squaresoft (*yells "Bastards! They're mine!" before running away from scary lawyer people in brown suits and scary psychiatrists in white coats*). Objection (Tango) is a song by Shakira and I want it but don't own it. Dammit.   
  
(0) (0)  
(".")  
(")--(")  
  
(It's a bunny!)  
  
*coughs* Story time!   
  
***  
It's not her fault that she's so irresistible  
But all the damage she's caused isn't fixable  
Every twenty seconds you repeat her name  
But when it comes to me you don't care  
If I'm alive or dead  
So Objection  
I don't want to be the exception  
To get a bit of your attention  
I love you for free and I'm not your mother  
But you don't even bother  
Objection  
I'm tired of this triangle  
Got dizzy dancing tango  
I'm falling apart in your hands again  
No way  
I've got to get away  
This is pathetic and sardonic  
It's sadistic and psychotic  
Tango is not for three  
Was never meant to be.  
***  
  
Tifa Lockhart stared at the contents of tequila swirling merrily in her glass, and attempted valiantly to mask her feelings. Aeris had swept back into her life and stolen Cloud away once more with zero effort, and it pissed Tifa off just as much as it hurt her. She loved Aeris like a sister, but there was only so much a girl could take before she went insane. Or, just hit something really, really hard.   
  
"Tifa?" the now familiar silky and incredibly sexy voice of Sephiroth wafted through her ears. "Are you wallowing again?"  
  
"Bite me," she snarled.   
  
"Where? Besides, I bet Aeris tastes better than you."  
  
Tifa whirled, her temper flaring to life beyond what she had thought possible. The bastard had the nerve to come into her bar, interrupt her thoughts, and then push every single wrong button Tifa possessed. She growled low in her throat, and glared at Sephiroth in a way that would have made Squall Leonhart cower, but he's not a part of this game, so we'll leave him out for now.   
  
Sephiroth raised his hands in surrender. "Chill out. I'm just rubbing you the wrong way. Actually, I'd love to do that, but you wouldn't let me. You're as sexy as you are deadly."  
  
"Why don't you drop dead then?"  
  
Sephiroth sighed. "I've tried, but Yuffie put that damned life preservation spell on me. I couldn't leave you alone even if I wanted to, which I don't. What man in their right mind would ever want to stop looking at you?"  
  
"Cloud."  
  
"He's nuts."  
  
"Point taken."  
  
Tifa sighed, her misery lightened ever so slightly by Sephiroth's cynical mood. She felt the need to kill something, and knew that as she thought it, Sephiroth would bring it up. He had an uncanny way of reading her mind. Tifa wished Cloud could do that, and briefly pondered what it would be like to be in love with Sephiroth. That thought was quickly dismissed from her mind, however, when she remembered that Sephiroth was pining after Aeris. What the hell was it with that girl, anyway?  
  
Tifa turned demurely back to her drink. "Go away."  
  
"No."  
  
"Fuck off."  
  
"I would, but you're in the room. Unless, of course, you feel like helping me?"  
  
Tifa rolled her eyes. "Gods, what happened to you in the life stream? Where's the psychotic killer I used to know and hate?"  
  
"I flushed him down the toilet. Being perverted is so much more fun."  
  
Tifa snorted. "Evidently. Either come here and get smashed with me or go away."  
  
Sephiroth grinned wolfishly and took a seat beside her. "Oh, woe is me! Beer for free! Sex on a stool is beside me! Won't she come sit on my knee? Damn she'd look hot in a gi! Ack, ack! She's armed with a tree!"  
  
"It's not a tree, Shakespeare, it's a stick. Come close so I can beat you with it!"  
  
***  
  
Yuffie winced as a great smashing noise came from the bar.   
  
"Maybe it was a bad idea to send Sephy to cheer Tifa up?"  
  
"That, love, is a rhetorical question," Vincent replied from beside her.  
  
***  
  
Sephiroth grumpily retreated from the war zone Tifa had the idea to call a bar. That woman was a demon when she was mad! Jesus. Nursing a sore right cheek gingerly, he wandered the streets of Kalm, wondering just how Cloud had put up with her in the first place. Stopping in his tracks and halting his train of thoughts, Sephiroth came to a realization. Tifa was only like this when Cloud was away or rejected her. Cloud made her like this in the first place. He had hurt Tifa. Sephiroth felt a sudden wave of emotion rush over him, and he knew he had to do something about Tifa. It was payback time.  
  
After all, he wouldn't have gotten beat up if it weren't for Cloud's talent for bullshit.  
  
***  
  
Yuffie wearily peeked her eye open the next morning, wondering why it was so quiet is Kalm. It was baaad when it got this quiet and the heroes of the planet resided here. Yuffie rolled over and shook her sleeping mate.  
  
"Vinnie! Vinnie!" she said in hushed tones, unable to keep the worry out of her voice. Something was up. Her Ancient's sixth sense knew this, and she knew it had to do with Tifa not taking her anger noisily out on anything. It spelled "Final Heaven" when that girl kept anything locked inside.  
  
"Mrph," Vincent said, rolling over away from Yuffie. The ninja growled.  
  
'VINNIE!!' she bellowed with her mind into his.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL--!!"  
  
Yuffie shook with quiet giggles. "I knew that would wake you up."  
  
Vincent's eyes narrowed. "You are evil."  
  
She smiled. "I know. But really, Vinnie, I'm worried. It's too quiet, and it's almost noon. I can't even hear Tifa yelling at Sephiroth."  
  
Vincent paused to listen. "You're right. Maybe we should just stay in here for a while, love. It's probably safest."  
  
"You're probably right, but still. You don't think Tifa killed Sephy, do you? I mean, she'll beat things to death without knowing."  
  
"Don't be silly. Just near death."  
  
***  
  
Tifa murmured groggily, the sun shining directly through the window and into her eyes. The girl squealed in protest and shuffled farther under the blankets, wondering how the hell she got here and why the bedding didn't smell like her own. It was stronger, and smelled like raw materia and rain. Okay. That was weird.  
  
She had come to the conclusion she was in a man's bed, and only one man smelled like so much power and materia. She groaned, peeking under the covers to make sure she was dressed. She was...sort of. All she had left was her underwear, but was better than nothing, and stripping her just enough to piss her off was a decidedly Sephiroth thing to do.  
  
Not only had the man stripped her, he had wedged his Masamune right behind her ears, wiggled it around a little, and stuck a little bit of tequila in her brain. Damn him. She groaned again, vainly attempting to get to sleep while fighting the sunlight from hell.  
  
A low chuckle came behind her. She winced. "Don't walk so loud!" she snapped.  
  
"You are feisty in the morning. And with a hangover, no less. But you're probably boring, unless your undressed."  
  
Tifa sighed. "I hate your poetry."  
  
Sephiroth sat himself gently down on the bed. "I know," he said, presenting her with a glass of what looked like Lifestream. "This will help."  
  
Though it sounded like he was playing a gong inside her brain, she knew he was whispering, and was grateful. "Thanks," she grated out, her voice more hoarse than she thought it was.  
  
"Thank Yuffie. She's the one who gave me this stuff to give you," Sephiroth lied. "Anyway, sleep here as long as you like. I know you probably don't want to go home with Cloud being there and all, so you can stay at my place until you feel better. Sorry about being an ass earlier."  
  
Tifa raised an eyebrow after drinking the foul green liquid. "Gods, what did they do to you?"  
  
Sephiroth smiled. "Vincent threatened to shoot me."  
  
"Ah."  
  
***  
  
Tifa had passed out quite merrily for the rest of the day, sleeping off the hangover and whatever the hell Sephiroth had given her. She still didn't know what was up with him and Jenova, but she figured she'd know soon.   
  
When she awoke the next morning, her clothes had been pinned to the ceiling, just out of her reach, by the Masamune. A piece of paper with a smiley face drawn on it was left dangling from the hilt.  
  
***  
  
Vincent winced as Tifa's string of curse words floated through Kalm. "Yuffie, I thought you said Sephiroth wouldn't do anything else to Tifa?"  
  
Yuffie shrugged. "The day he tells the truth, I'll eat my Conformer."  
  
"He would pay to see that."  
  
The ninja sighed. "I know." 


	2. More Than Beautiful

When I'm Gone

part ii - More Than Beautiful

Author's Note: Yeeeehaw!!!!! It feels great to be writing again. So, what do you guys think? This is gonna get pretty angsty, but I promise there will be some happiness. We must have happiness. Isn't that right, Sephy?! *kissy kissy*

Sephiroth: O_O!!

Sugar + Good Music = Spaz Masika

Tee hee hee.

Disclaimer: I don't wanna. *pouts*

Sephiroth: *aims Masamune*

Masika: SHIT! They ain't mine! *heads for the hills*

Sephiroth: ^_^

Uhm, THIS CHAPTER IS RATED R for Cid's swearing. Sowwy! ^^;;

***

I darted in and out, up and down, and none of it made a difference. I dodged, I struck, but my fists just couldn't decimate like they used to. I didn't understand it, and the rage of a Final Heaven was held taught at my fingertips. I wanted to strike and flee, parry and wield as much power as the silver haired man before me.

He smirked, and his sword came down. I thrust my hand out, hoping to catch the steel he was rearing at me with the metal of my glove. It didn't work, and the Masamune tore through my chest like so much pain of a thousand years before me. I didn't even scream -- I couldn't. I just waited for Cloud as this man went after my father, crying my dry tears, hearing without listening.

All I wanted was for it to end; for the pain to leave me for oblivion. But I awoke, as I always do, but now. . .Now, Cloud was all I had left of my past. And I clung, dear gods, I clung, and I promised I would never let go.

I do not break promises easily.

***

Tifa eyed the scar in between her breasts disdainfully. It was clean, not even a twist of scar tissue, a straight, bloodless line that only the Masamune could create.

And she was sleeping in the bed of the man who wielded it.

What was wrong with her? Aeris was dead, and she, Tifa, should be with Cloud. Ancients do no go resurrecting themselves, damn it! Neither do psychopaths who become slaves to their genetic freak "mother". Fuck. What had happened to the world? Nothing was the way it should be.

Maybe she had just been looking at everything the wrong way. After all, who wouldn't want Aeris? She was the perfect woman - Strong, beautiful, smart, kind, determined, selfless, devoted...The list goes on. Even Yuffie was more of a woman that Tifa was - Cetra powers or no. 

Tifa traced the scar, closing her eyes as she felt again the slash of the blade, the raw power that was Sephiroth. That power had not gone away -- Tifa doubted it ever would. She bitterly shook her head and turned from the mirror; nothing mattered.

Sephiroth stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and leaning against the doorframe. He was the very picture of arrogance, yet his face was devoid of any Holier-Than-Thou expression. He walked up to her and caught her hands as she tried to cover herself; it was not everyday you willingly let your enemy see you naked. 

Sephiroth set Tifa's hands at her sides and raised his hand to her chest, tracing the scar. His eyes never moved once from the thin line, and shifted only to meet Tifa's own garnet gaze, his index finger still on the line of damaged tissue.

"It adds character, I think," he said softly.

"Sephiroth..."

He shook his head. "I know, I know. This isn't right. But nothing is anymore, is it? These lines you carry on your body, your battle scars...I can see more of them than he can."

Tifa met his eyes squarely, her eyebrows raised in a faint expression of question. She had given up her modesty; Sephiroth had probably seen her naked before anyway. 

Sephiroth smiled grimly and ran his hand along the only line that marred her skin.

"Even your broken heart is more than beautiful."

***

The next morning, Tifa peered around the edge of Sephiroth's house, watching him move to the beat of a song she never dreamed she could hear. He snapped his sword through the air with a whip like speed, but the sword was a mere shadow of the Masamune. Sephiroth was captivating her more and more; she didn't like it. She was NOT supposed to become fascinated with this man, damn it! It just didn't work that way.

He was probably just rebound for Cloud anyway. And besides, this man had to have his own agenda. He wasn't making sense. Why so tender all of the sudden, instead of "I'll Shish kabob Your Best Friend"?

When he had traced her scar, the very scar that he had given her, she felt herself tremble against her will. She wanted to fling herself into someone's arms, and the only someone that was there was Sephiroth. She had to talk to Cloud, or something would happen, and she would regret it. 

As she watched Sephiroth practice, Tifa Lockhart feared the love of her life would only drive her farther into the arms of her enemy.

***

"Well fuck me!" Cid Highwind roared gleefully. "You're trying to get Tifa and Sephiroth to take a roll in the sack, aintcha?!"

"Quiet, geezer!" Yuffie hissed. "Do you want them to hear you?!"

"For Christ's sake, kid, they're across the god damn town!"

"Has that ever made a difference before?!" the young ninja demanded. She looked around the walls of her house grumpily. "This place has a sound carrier, I swear to god...Why did I want you, anyway?"

"I'm sexy?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Cait Sith on a stick is sexier than you."

Cid chuckled evilly. "That can be arranged. I've still got my mop around here somewhere."

"Nyeh!" Yuffie cried, whacking him.

"Nyeh?" Cid mocked. "What kind of a word is 'Nyeh'?"

"A better one than 'Well fuck me'!"

"That's three words."

Yuffie stroked her Conformer.

"Ah, right then. Why you wanted me. You need the Highwind, but you can't pilot it, correct?"

"Yeah."

"And you have some devious plan up your sleeve that will most likely fail, but you're going to make me do it anyway, and you'll have your vampire boyfriend shoot me if I don't do it right, and it'll end up with everyone getting laid?"

"Except Cait."

"Yeah. We won't count the cat. But if you want me to fly my god damn plane, you've gotta tell me the god damn plan."

Yuffie leaned in and told him The Plan in a series of hushed whispers. Cid shook his head and tapped the ninja's temple.

"The wheel is turning, but the hamster's dead. You're fucking crazy."

***

Cloud yawned hugely, smiling at the angel by his side. He had fallen asleep with Aeris on the couch, as they had been talking until the very, very wee hours of the morning. It looked to be afternoon by now, but Cloud couldn't tell without a clock. He couldn't even tell a girl from a boy when he woke up, much less the time of day.

Standing and stretches, he shot Aeris an apologetic look as she stirred and woke. 

"Sorry," he said. "I'm gonna go see if Tifa's got any food waiting for us, k?"

Aeris nodded and rubbed her eyes sleepily, smiling at his retreating back. Still, she was worried -- Cloud was living with Tifa now. That meant her chances were just about obsolete. But, with another smile as she greeted the sunshine, she realized that didn't matter. As long as her friends were happy, she was, too.

"Tifa!" Cloud called loudly from the base of the stairs. "TIFA!"

No one answers. "Probably gone out," Cloud thought to himself as he charged up the stairs into their bedroom. A note was attached to the full length mirror, and it made Cloud's blood run cold. He reached it with trembling hands, recognizing Tifa's carefully curved letters.

"I've found a place to stay while you sort your feelings. Cloud, I know you love her. You always have, and no matter how long I was there, it never stopped you. I always will be there, but I refuse to stay in the way of you being happy. Make your choice, Cloud. I will never, ever let go, but I can't promise I will wait forever. I won't let myself wait in weakness. I am better than that, and you know it. I am stronger. I will be alright, Cloud. Don't worry. It's time for you to walk the path you want to, whether I am part of it or not. I love you. Tifa."

Cloud sat down on the edge of the bed slowly, glancing at the doorway as Aeris walked in. Her eyes were worried.

"She's gone, Aeris. She's gone."

***

Sephiroth's eyes widened as he returned to his house from training and the sharp scents of spiced food assaulted his nostrils. His stomach chose then to have an earthquake, and he groaned. He hadn't eaten in hours.

Wandering into his kitchen, Tifa was standing next to three pots on the stove, all which appeared to be in the middle of cooking, and she was whipping the hell out of something. She smiled brightly at him.

"It'll be ready in about thirty minutes if you want to go get cleaned up first."

Sephiroth gave a small nod and gestured to the food. "What's all this?"

"I might as well cook while I'm here. I mean, even if you did keep my clothes out of my reach until you felt like getting them down, that's no reason to poison you, right?" 

She smiled sweetly.

Sephiroth's didn't feel so hungry anymore. "Um, actually, Vincent asked me to stop by his house tonight. I think Yuffie's trying to cook some new dish, and he wants me to sample it. I don't think it matters if I die if it's lethal. Besides, that damned life preservation spell..."

"Well then, it wouldn't hurt you to eat my cooking anyway, now would it?"

Sephiroth winced. He was, indeed, a great big idiot. "Um, well," he started. Tifa waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Just go shower. You smell like Cid."

Sephiroth chuckled lightly as he walked up the stairs. 

As soon as he was in the bathroom, he leaned against the door and sighed. That woman was scary when she wanted to be. Life preservation spell or no, poison would be painful. And because he couldn't actually die, Sephiroth had no doubt Tifa had used some. 

Stripping off his clothing quickly, he started the shower and stepped under the stream of water. The light at the top of the bathroom made each droplet that fell from the faucet glisten like it was drenched in sunshine. He smiled slightly, suddenly getting an image of Tifa, her face radiant, with light infused droplets clinging to her skin and hair. 

Okay. Maybe it was a bad thing he had seen her naked.

Sephiroth hopped out of the shower and quickly as possible and toweled off, worrying that more time alone would give him more time to think about the woman downstairs. 'God, that sounds like a bad horror movie,' he thought to himself. 'The Woman Downstairs.'

Throwing on black jeans and an equally black T-shirt, he made his way down the stairs. Tifa was still hard at work over the food. Walking up behind her, she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for the thought. I appreciate it. I just, eh..."

"Don't want to die a painful and gory death that will most likely result in your spleen exploding?"

"Um, yeah. Kinda."

Tifa smiled. "I understand."

Sephiroth smiled. Tifa was trying desperately to suppress the thoughts of just how sexy he looked, but it wasn't working.

"I'll see you later. Sorry about the food!" he called before leaving.

Tifa shrugged and sat down. "More for me."

***

A/N: I'm not being very secretive about the pairings, am I? *sighs* Oh well.


	3. Sell My Soul

When I'm Gone 

part III

"Sell My Soul"

*****

Tifa was very, very bored. The gorgeous, silver haired man she had mentally come to call Sex on Legs had been gone for hours at Yuffie's "dinner test". And Tifa didn't want to snoop around his house, but oh GOD, she wanted just a peek. To know more about the magnificent General Sephiroth was too great an opportunity to miss.

Standing, Tifa left the guest room an glared at the hole in the ceiling where her clothes had been pinned the day before. Letting out a low growl, she decided to start with Sephiroth's room first.

The bartender ascended the stairs of Sephiroth's home, inching towards what she knew to be his bedroom. She pushed open the door, hoping that something in his room would give her a clue as to how to get revenge for her clothing. After all, he had foregone the food. Which, Tifa noted to herself, hadn't been poisoned anyway, but with much luck, Sephiroth would have been allergic to pepper.

The room was poorly decorated, with drab amounts of gray and black. Tifa made a 'humph' noise in the back of her throat. That was SO like him. Ah, well. Tifa cracked her knuckles soundly. It was snooping time.

She looked first at his bed, and an ancient looking chest next to it with Wutain carvings covering its surface. The chest wasn't locked, so Tifa didn't see any harm in taking just an eensy weensy peek. If the gods were smiling on her, she'd find some kind of porn, and then she'd have enough blackmail for years to come. The thought made her smile happily and forget entirely about a certain chocobo of a swordsman and the petite flower girl at his side.

Tifa kneeled before the chest, her black pants tightening uncomfortably around her knees with the movement. She shifted, and hefted up the lid of the large oak container. Its insides were divided up into sections; the left side contained at least ten million gil worth of materia, which in itself was an incredibly valuable weapon. All Tifa had to do with breathe a word to the young ninja across Kalm, and _viola_! The sorrel haired bartender chuckled evilly. Even the mightiest general of ShinRa would never stand a chance against Yuffie and a multi-million gil stash of materia.

The right half of the chest contained exquisite, older than old looking tapestries that fit Sephiroth's persona perfectly. Ancient battles of war between Wuitainese soldiers and men who looked like Cetra. That is, they were wielding small amount of Lifestream. Giant dragons, destroying and burning cities. All of the wall hangings within the chest were a multitude of silver, red and black, with an occasional splash of gold, but all the scenes depicted also took place in the past. But then, Tifa started to notice different ones...

About halfway down the neatly folded stack, a piece of black and silver woven cloth showed a picture of Tifa and Cloud as children, sometime after Tifa's mother had died. Cloud remained dejected in a corner, while Tifa was surrounded by faceless friends across the tapestry. The cloth was woven with such detail, Tifa was forced to marvel. 

The next tapestry, however, made the girl's blood run cold. Set in full color, the altar in the center was adorned with a honey haired, emerald eyed young woman with a smile on her face. In front of her, a sad blond man struggled with his weapon, as if fighting voices not his own. And above, a one winged angel, his wing as dark as obsidian, his silver hair outshining the moonlight, was poised with a wicked looking sword. His face was twisted into a cold smile, colder than the frigid waters below the dais. 

Tifa wished she hadn't seen that smile for herself.

The sharp reminder of what Sephiroth used to be made her spine shiver unpleasantly. Once again, she felt Masamune tear through her chest, leaving that mark that "added character." She scowled, quenching down the fear her memories brought her, and slammed the chest shut.

***

"Something you want to say to me?"

Tifa gulped and turned to face a pissed Sephiroth. Very pissed, and holding a certain full color tapestry. 

"You have a lot of materia?" she asked innocently. This induced a growl from Sephiroth, and Tifa winced. "I was tempted?"

"Indeed," he said coldly, and tossed the curtain of fabric at her. She caught it deftly, and the One Winged Angel's smile made her stare for the second time that day. The dark of night seeped into the house from the windows, the starlight outside doing nothing to lighten the room. All the lights were off, and Sephiroth's facial expressions played dangerously in the shadows.

"What are you so pissed for, anyway? I didn't take anything!"

Sephiroth sighed and turned to face the stairs. "I know," he said quietly. "But you weren't meant to see that."

She nervously fingered the cloth in her lap. "It wasn't anything I wanted to see."

Another sigh from Sephiroth, and he turned to face her again. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her, gazing out the kitchen's window. "Moth..." He cleared his throat and started over. "Jenova made those for me. She always had a scene for me before it happened, as if showing me what to do. They were records that shouldn't have been kept."

"Then why did you keep them?"

He took the image from her and looked it over. "I don't know. It's not something I want to remember."

Tifa looked thoughtful. "Then..."

"Then?" he prompted at her pause. She took a deep breath.

"Let's get rid of them."

"Really? That's like burning your past, you know. Yours as well as mine."

"I know, but I don't mind. I...don't have much of my past left, anyways. Cloud will return to Aeris, and I hate holding grudges. I want to forget....the pain of what happened. I don't want to hurt from losing him to her again. I want to start over."

"In the case," he murmured softly and extended his hand to her, "my name is Sephiroth. It's a pleasure to meet you."

***

The fire was the attraction of Kalm that night. It climbed high and the screams of an elderly couple who thought Kalm was burning woke the town, drawing them into the circle at the base of the city. It was a sphere of light that stroked the sky with individual tendrils of heat. Cloud broke through the crowd, only to stop abruptly when he made it through, Aeris bumping into his back softly. 

Tifa and Sephiroth stood there, closer together than he would have liked. Tifa had a hand on one hip and wore a mask of blankness, much like Sephiroth did. Yuffie and Vincent arrived soon after, Yuffie trying to get the people of Kalm to return to their beds.

"Tifa! What are you doing?!"

The tall girl turned her garnet eyes and set them upon Cloud, though she was speaking to Yuffie. "I'm burning a part of the past."

Cloud gulped. Why did that sound so final, and why was she so pissed? Sephiroth smiled grimly in the firelight, and Cloud made a fist. He couldn't do anything, he was so frozen with Aeris's eyes on him, when Sephiroth reached out and put a hand of Tifa's shoulder, intimately placing his lips a centimeter from her ear to whisper something. Cloud was sure he saw the man's turquoise eyes flick to him. Tifa nodded, and Sephiroth distanced himself from her again, returning his eyes to the flame.

Tifa pulled a cloth from a pile at her feet; apparently, that's what they had been burning. Yuffie drew herself closer curiously as Tifa touched the black and silver threads gingerly. Her ancient's eyes widened when she saw the picture depicted: it was Tifa and Cloud, as children. Tifa had her mouth set in a grim line as she threw it to the flames. Yuffie's mind wandered in glee. 

'So, that's the past she's burning, is it? If she's forsaken Cloud, she's as good as Sephiroth's!'

Mako green eyes turned to her, and Yuffie stared at the understanding gaze Sephiroth gave her. 'You should shield your thoughts before you send them, you know.' 

Yuffie gulped. There was a definite tinge of amusement to his "voice." Well, damn. He wasn't supposed to hear that!

Tifa turned and smiled at Sephiroth, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze before she walked away from the flames. Yuffie wasn't sure, but she thought she had seen the long haired brunette mouth 'Thank you' to Sephiroth. This was deeper than a simple bonfire, by that exchange. The ancient was thrilled inside; this worked out perfectly.

Cloud felt a twinge as Tifa walked past him without a word. He watched her lithe form travel in the direction of Sephiroth's house, the swordsman himself heading to his own home grumpily soon afterwards. Fine. Leave Tifa to Sephiroth, if that was what she wanted. He never noticed Aeris's eyes sadden behind him as he left the fire.

***

Tifa and Sephiroth had both ended up in his bed that night. There was nothing sexual about the encounter, but with the state of mind she was in, Tifa might not have resisted. Sephiroth was stirring beside her and blinked sleepily as he met her gaze.

-How do you feel

How do you hate

How do you wake up with

that smile that's on your face-

She smiled at him, and brushed her hand along his chest briefly. "Thank you," she murmured. 

He smiled in return and leaned down. Her eyes widened as his lips hovered a breath away from hers. He pushed forward a bit more, meeting hers in a chaste kiss that left her heart pounding. She didn't know what to do, what to think. Too sudden. Definitely too sudden. And at the same time, maybe it wasn't. He pulled back, still smiling.

"Always."

-Out on the moon

If I was an astronaut

Could I get back to you?-

He stood and disentangled himself from the sheets gently. "No matter what Cloud's choice is, I know you can make it through. And....you can stay here, if you'd like."

-I'm out of my head

I'm out of excuses so I'm staring at

the bed, and it's you, it's you-

Tifa nodded again. She looked at this man before her, silver hair and naked chest gleaming proudly in the morning light, and marveled. He...was no longer the man he once was. This wasn't even Sephiroth. This was not a child of Jenova, but a child of a beautiful woman named Lucrecia. This was the original Sephiroth, before he was corrupted by Hojo and experiments and Mako. Jenova was gone, and the man, the general, had been revealed. Even war heroes had personalities beneath the blood of battle...and she was the only one who was seeing Sephiroth's. He was saving it for her. 

-I hold on I hold on

I can't let go of you

I hold on I hold on

I'd sell my soul for you-

She smiled serenely, relishing how needed she felt. "I'd like that."

-I'm losing my heart

I'm losing my pride

I'd burn our initials

In the sun if it would shine-

He took her hand and helped her up. Still unsure about the kiss he had given her, no matter how chaste it was, he decided it was just best to make breakfast. He and Tifa could have a new beginning, he knew. One without Cloud, without unhappiness. Just a quiet sort of contentment here in Kalm. He wasn't sure, but he had an inkling that she had never felt true peace, either. He'd like to give it to her, if she'd be willing to share it with him

-I need a fresh start

'cause I was in heaven until

This world fell apart-

He knew he'd have to repent. He could handle that, if she'd go through it with him. Even if she wouldn't, he would take it in stride, as a part of his punishment. But, the more he thought, the more he sounded like Valentine. Even if he were by himself, he'd be okay. Though he had no right to stain her purity, he just hoped....

-I'm out on the run

I'm out in this empty space

Since all of this began

Well I tried, I tried-

-I'm old enough to take

all the blame

For all the mistakes

All the games and

All the faces-

-I'm bleeding by myself

but I'm okay-

...that she'd bleed with him.

***

"Sell My Soul" by Our Lady Peace.

When I reread this I realized how final it sounded, but don't worry, there will be more chapters. I like this too much to stop. ^_^ 

So, cheese yes, cheese no? Cheese me no likey? On second thought, make your potatoes a salad? (Those who have seen The Emperor's New Groove know that I'm not insane. ^^) There's a little button at the bottom of the screen to let me know how this is going. ^_^ 'Til then, ja!


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